Entakt frontman goes solo
Entakt frontman Jonas Villumsen is going solo and has a new track posted at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jonasvillumsen
The Boombox Hearts - Gold
Danish slowcore act The Boombox Hearts (ex-Oliver North Boy Choir) have posted a new track called "Gold" at Bandbase: http://www.bandbase.dk/TheBoomboxHearts/
Virus album progress
Norwegian avant-metal act Virus reports that vocals have now been recorded for their new album, leaving only bass, overdubs and mixing to go. The title: "The agent that shapes the desert". No idea when it'll be out, but I'll keep you posted.
New music from The Fume
Swedish glam/garage-rockers The Fume have two new tracks posted at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fumethe
Pitchfork reviews Shining (NOR)
Pitchfork gets around to reviewing Shining's excellent "Blackjazz" album: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14215-blackjazz/
Division of Laura Lee - Violence is timeless (video)
Division of Laura Lee have a new video for the song "Violence is timeless": http://vimeo.com/11716971
MP3: Deathchain - The crawling chaos
Finnish metal acts Sotajumala and Deathchain have a new split CD out now via and the label was kind enough to send a copy my way. Conceptually speaking, it's a fun idea: two bands, one original song plus one Iron Maiden cover each. In execution however, all is not well. Things start off poorly with Sotajumala's "Sinun virtesi", a typical modern death metal track with clicky drums (heavy on the blasts, 'natch), burpy vocals and your usual swarm-of-bees guitar tone. Totally pointless, totally boring. Their Maiden cover on the other hand ("Prowler"), is excellent, no doubt helped along a fair extent by the appearance of one Paul Di'anno on lead vocals. Stop and ponder how sad it is that the dude is now reduced to doing karaoke covers of his old band's songs and the luster starts to dim, but he does actually sound remarkably good still, near 30-some years down the road. Deathchain doesn't fair nearly as well with their take on "Purgatory" -- they're way too stiff to approximate Maiden's trademark gallop and guest vocalist Tommi "Tuple" Salmela (Tarot) pretty much sucks. All is not lost though, Deathchain's one original cut ("The crawling chaos") is a total black-thrash rager in the vein of Grotesque or The Crown. All razor sharp riffs and harsh vocals -- definitely bodes well for the band's forthcoming album. I love Maiden and all, but this one song is the winner by a longshot.
Deathchain - The crawling chaos
The Line of Best Fit reviews Nicolai Dunger
The Line of Best Fit reviews Nicolai Dunger's newest album "Play": http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/05/nicolai-dunger-play/
Discouraged announces release date for Plector
has confirmed that new signees Plector will see their debut album "Dark & spiteful" released on September 8.
Jasper TX
Singing stones
Fang Bomb
Ambient music is one of those genres that's increasingly mirroring the Swedish melodic death metal scene. Not in terms of style, of course, rather in terms of complete oversaturation and lack of variation. You know the score: there's a mountain of bands, all doing the exact same things to varying degrees of success, yet only a handful have the presence of mind and ability to rise above the masses and output something really special -- or original, for that matter. Jasper TX falls into the category of those who ply the trade well but fail to do anything really noteworthy. That said, Swede Dag Rosenqvist, is to be commended for his commitment to the world of cinematic ambience, but it must also be pointed out that there's nothing really going on that hasn't been done a gazillion times before. "Singing stones" is like an IKEA table: it does the job, but every other table in every other IKEA is exactly the same -- more or less -- and half the population has one. A Jonas Bohlin table may be a little less accessible and may take more time to construct, but the end result is far more unique and enjoyable and it stands out from the crowd. Yes, "Singing stones" is a good album and is well put together. But the fact that, with very few exceptional moments, it sounds pretty much like every other ambient/cinematic project out there means it's pretty pointless even checking it out if you already have a heap of this type of music. For a first time buyer, however, it's a good introduction. Then, when you hear all the other bands that sound the same you can say, "They just sound like Jasper TX." Swings and roundabouts, I suppose.
- John Norby
Encyclopedia of Svensk Dödsmetall: the Return
Italian death metal fiend Nicola Costantini is working on a revised 2nd edition of his "Encyclopedia of Svensk Dödsmetall" which looks to be absolute massive, clocking it somewhere near 400 A4-sized pages. Expect a 50/50 split of recycled/rearranged content from the first book and fresh new material, much of which is outlined in this blog post. It'll only be printing in a small limited edition, so you may want to reserve a copy early.
MP3: Moses - Warning
Moses was a three-piece heavy rock from Denmark way back in the glory days of the late 60s/early 70s. I know I post a lot of similar stuff from new bands aping this style, so it's nice to get a slice of the real deal every once in awhile. And now, since Moses' sole (I believe) album "Changes" was recently reissued by , I have even more of an excuse to do so. No big surprises to be had musically speaking, these dudes are your typical fuzzed-out blues jammers, leaning a bit more towards Blue Cheer or Cream than Black Sabbath or Led Zep. I don't say "typical" to put them down though, I only say that so you don't go in expecting to be blown away by some was-lost face-melter. Naah, it's just a solid album that deserves better than being lost to history and, as someone who buys a heckuva lot of reissues, I can appreciate that. Play loud!
Moses - Warning
Svarte Greiner to release tour CDR
Svarte Greiner won't be able to get copies of his new album "Penpals forever" in time for his upcoming US tour, so he's handmade 100 limited CDRs of various unreleased and live material to be sold instead. Full details and ordering info for anyone unable to make the live dates: http://sonicpieces.bigcartel.com/product/svarte-greiner-untitled-tour-cdr
Dusted reviews The Tallest Man on Earth
Dusted reviews the new album "The wild hunt" from The Tallest Man on Earth: http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5706
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Bleed like there was no other flood (video)
A new Wildbirds & Peacedrums video, directed by Patrik Instedt (NEI, Brick). Still not all that into this band, but their new choral-enhanced stuff is a step up.
Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSI0Jf7sg60